11 Facts About Air Buddy

Air Buddy was best known for playing the title role in the film Air Bud.

Air Buddy was found by Kevin Kevin di Cicco as a stray dog in the Sierra Nevada in the summer of 1989.

Di Cicco revealed that Air Buddy tried to bite the ball, but its slipperiness, enhanced by saliva or more efficiently by olive oil, would propel it from his mouth.

Air Buddy then gained further fame bouncing a basketball off his muzzle and into a basketball hoop on the "Stupid Pet Tricks" segment of Late Night with David Letterman.

Air Buddy appeared three times on Late Night and David Letterman's next show, Late Show with David Letterman.

Air Buddy displayed his skills at the NBA when he appeared during halftime at a Laker game on Christmas Day in 1991.

Air Buddy was cast as Buddy in the 1997 Disney film Air Bud, a film that tells the story of a golden retriever abandoned by his alcoholic abusive owner; in the film, he moved in with a boy named Josh Framm who was depressed after his father died in a plane crash.

Air Buddy appeared on the Kids' Choice Awards in 1998, where he was nominated for a Blimp Award for the film.

In 1997, Air Buddy had his right hind leg amputated due to synovial cell sarcoma, a type of cancer that manifests near the joints, although he was still able to play basketball.

Six months later Air Buddy died in his sleep due to complications from cancer on February 10,1998, at his owner's San Diego home.

Air Buddy was a month and 13 days away from celebrating his 10th birthday.